The game referred to generally as “Bingo” is played with predetermined bingo cards that include a number of designations randomly arranged in a grid or other layout of spots or locations. The bingo cards may be physically printed on paper or another suitable material, or may be represented by a data structure that defines the various card locations and designations associated with the locations. In the traditional bingo game sequence, a number of the predetermined bingo cards are put in play for a particular game. After the sale of bingo cards is closed for a given game, designations are randomly selected from a pool of available designations and matched to the designations on each bingo card that is in play in the game. This matching of bingo designations randomly selected for a game and bingo designations associated with a card in play in the game is commonly referred to as daubing the card and results in a pattern or arrangement of matched spots or card locations. Daubing was done manually by the player holding the bingo card in traditional bingo games, and then by a game administrator to verify a win in the game. More recent bingo gaming systems automatically check for winning patterns on a bingo card as designations are randomly selected for a game. Regardless of how the bingo cards in play in a game are daubed, the first card which is daubed in some predefined way is considered a winning card for the game. The predefined way in which a card must be matched or daubed to produce a win in the game is commonly defined in terms of some identifiable pattern of matched or daubed locations on the card.
Although traditional bingo games remain popular, traditional paper bingo games are played relatively slowly. The card purchasing or buy-in period, the sequential ball draw and announcement of each individual designation, and then winner verification together consume a good deal of time. The time required to play a traditional bingo game limits the player excitement with the game and thus limits player satisfaction.
Various systems have been developed to aid players in playing bingo games and to enhance player participation in the games. The MegaMania™ gaming system offered by Multimedia Games, Inc. comprises a bingo gaming system in which players at different gaming facilities over a large geographic area may participate in bingo games. The players participate in bingo games in the MegaMania™ system through electronic player stations that are maintained at various gaming facilities across the United States.
Another networked bingo gaming system is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/456,721 entitled “Method, System, and Program Product for Conducting Multiple Concurrent Bingo-Type Games,” the entire content of which is incorporated herein by this reference. The gaming system disclosed in this patent application groups players rapidly to form quorums for conducting bingo games. Although numerous individual bingo games in this system may be in various stages of completion at any point in time, each individual bingo game is played in the traditional bingo sequence. That is, the players place their card or cards in play, bingo designations are drawn, and then the results for each card in play are identified. In some implementations of this gaming system, the players must take some action to claim the result associated with their card or cards. For example, a player may be required to activate a player control at the player station to daub their card or cards and then may be required to activate a player control at the player station to claim their result or prize. The daubing and result claiming actions may be required especially for the player in a given game that achieves the game ending pattern.
Electronic bingo game systems and electronic player stations may increase the speed at which certain operations in a bingo game may be performed. However, even in electronically implemented bingo games, the manner in which games are played and the player actions required to end a given game may introduce a delay in identifying game results and displaying those results to the various participants in the game. For example, in a bingo game implementation in which the player first achieving the game ending pattern must take some action to claim the win, delay may be introduced into the game when that apparent game ending winner is slow to take the required result claiming action or actions. It is also possible for the apparent game ending pattern winner to fail to take the required action within the provided time. In this case, game rules may require that additional designations be drawn or considered in order to identify a new apparent game ending winner, who is then given time to take the required result claiming actions. Not only does this process of identifying the new apparent winner add delay for that player, but also the additional designations considered may change the results for other players in that game. Thus, there remains a need for increasing the speed of play in bingo gaming systems in order to make the bingo games attractive to players, and especially a need for reducing the delay occasioned by slow players or players who are prone to failing to claim their results.